Living the dream

Do you ever lie there, imagining it? Do you dream of that morning when you make the very last payment on your mortgage? How you’re going to feel when you’re mortgage-free? What you’re going to do with all that extra money you’re going to have at the end of every month?

Well stop dreaming and set about making it a reality — years ahead of schedule.

Early payment penalties

First, check your mortgage documents or call your loan servicer. Some mortgage agreements impose prepayment penalties if you pay off your home loan early. Many don’t have any such requirement, and some impose only small “fines.”

But some demand significant sums that can undermine the economic viability of early payments. Check your agreement to see which category you’re in.

It’s the economics, stupid!

No, you’re not stupid. Your decision to pay off a mortgage faster should be based on whether it makes economic sense for you.

And that means at least considering whether you’d be better off investing elsewhere the extra money you’ll expend in bigger mortgage payments. Just remember two things:

High rewards involve high risk. If you’re banking on high returns on your investments, those won’t be certain

You’re definitely going to receive (as savings) the money you don’t have to pay out by having fewer mortgage payments

You can easily work out the total costs of borrowing for your two models: leaving things as they are now and paying down your mortgage quicker. A mortgage refinance calculator can help you see if how much you’ll save by refinancing to a shorter term. The hard part is in making the right assumptions about alternative investments.

Refinance to a shorter term

The most obvious way to pay off a mortgage faster is to refinance to a loan with a shorter term. So, if you have 20 or 25 years left to run on your 30-year…

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Rising interest rates, a seller’s market and increasing home values…these are just a few of today’s market challenges for buyers.
While 92 percent of adults say homeownership is an important part of the American Dream, student loan debt is the predominant obstacle, according to the sixth annual NeighborWorks America at Home survey.
The key findings?
Forty-eight percent of women of color have student loan debt, while only 22 percent of white women carry the burden.
As for solutions?
A large percentage of women—53 percent of women of color and 46 percent of white women—are not aware there are nonprofit organizations that offer student loan debt counseling.
Regarding millennials, 57 percent are burdened with student loan debt—a constant concern for 56 percent of surveyed individuals within the 18-34 age group.
Additionally, 59 percent also know of someone who delayed purchasing a home, attributing it to student loan debt, and nearly half of millennials (46 percent) do not know about student loan debt counseling offered by nonprofits.
Other challenges?
About 73 percent of surveyed adults believe, at least somewhat, that the home-buying process is complicated.

TruVest, is a national real estate investment company that challenges the conventional investment community to think differently about atypical investments in green technology and real estate notes.
Phone: 833-878-8378